Benjamín Brea
Benjamin Brea is a Venezuelan woodwind player, music teacher and arranger, mostly associated with jazz, although he has a wide career involved with other genres. He is mostly known for his collaborations with other artists and is noted to have a brilliant execution, a quality which has granted him various awards in his own country. He currently resides in Caracas, Venezuela. Characteristics and career Brea plays a grand number of instruments in the woodwinds family like the saxophone, clarinet, flute and oboe, apart from being a very demanded arranger and music educator. He is also acclaimed in many genres, specially classical music and jazz, and has a long history as a session musician in genres like pop, folk, Latin, world music, among others. He has performed alongside artists and bands like The Jackson Five, Maria Teresa Chacin, Serenata Guayanesa, Andy Duran, El Pavo Frank, Paquito D'Rivera, Alberto Naranjo, Porfi Jimenez Big Band, Gerry Weil, Julio Iglesias, Armando Manzanero, The Supremes and so on. He was a member of the now defunct Caracas Philarmonic Orchestra, in which he has enrolled as an instrumentalist as well as director on occasions. He has worked mostly as a sideman and has only released 3 solo albums: his first solo album "Another Point Of View" was released in 1995 and consists of his takes on jazz standards of people like Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller, arranged with more contemporanean brushes; it includes pieces like "Moonlight Serenade" and "Summer Time" as well as a jazzy version of the andean classic "El Cóndor Pasa" (The Condor Passes Through) His second album "Un Viejo Amor" (Ancient Love) is a more romantic offering and less jazzy, while "Christmas Saxes" was a production made by him in solitary, recording the 4 sax tracks himself in counterpoint and with the aid of sound engineer Javier Alquati in his own home studio; this last album is a compilation of traditional Christmas pieces from Venezuela and beyond. Apart from his own studio projects, he also organises a jazz band to play at gigs, and also participates in the "El Hatillo Jazz Festival" which is an annual event celebrated in the small town of El Hatillo. Discography 1995 Another Point of View (Jazz) 1997 Un Viejo Amor (World Music) 1999 Christmas' Saxes Several other CDs: Bob Flemming (Foca Records) Venezuelan Creole Music (Discorona) Collaborations 1973 Edgar Alexànder "Azùcar Cacao y Leche" 1974 María Teresa Chacín; "Mi Querencia"(Flute) 1975 Vytas Brenner; La Ofrenda (Flute) 1975 Los Cuñaos; "Volumen 2"(Sax, Flute) 1976 Frank Quintero; "Después De La Tormenta" (Sax, Flute) 1976 La Retreta Mayor; "La Retreta Mayor"(Sax, Flute) 1976 Los Cuñaos; "Los Cuñaos 4" (Sax, Flute) 1979 Alí Primera; "Canción Mansa Para Un..." (Flute) 1979 Alí Primera; "Cuando Nombro La Poesía" (Sax, Flute) 1979 Gerry Weil; "The Message" (Baritone Sax) 1980 María Teresa Chacín; "En Azul, Amarillo y Rojo" (Flute) 1981 Guillermo Carrasco; "Guillermo Carrasco" (Sax) 1981 Rosa Virginia Chacín; "Mi Nostalgia" (Flute) 1982 Yordano; "Negocios Son Negocios" (Sax) 1983 Ilan Chester; "Canciones de Todos..." (Sax) 1984 Alí Primera; "Entre La Rabia y La Ternura" (Sax, Flute) 1984 El Medio Evo; "Bolumen 4" (Sax, Flute) 1984 Franco De Vita; "Franco De Vita" (Sax) 1985 Alí Primera; "Por Si No Lo Sabía" (Sax, Flute) 1985 Andy Durán; "Mambo-Salsa" (Sax) 1985 El Medio Evo; "Medio Evo De Nuevo" (Sax) 1987 Jorge Aguilar; "Calor" (Sax) 1988 Guillermo Carrasco; "Visual" (Sax) 1988 Pentágono; "Más Romántico" (Sax) 1988 Ricardo Montaner; "Ricardo Montaner 2" (Sax) 1989 Alberto Naranjo; "Imagen Latina" (Sax, Flute) 1989 Pentágono; "Pentágono 3" (Sax) 1990 Agni Mogollón; "Entre Duendes" (Sax) 1990 Federico Britos Ruiz; "Conexión Jazz" (Clarinet) 1990 Franco De Vita; "Extranjero" (Sax) 1991 Pentágono; "Aguanta Corazón" (Sax) 1992 Charlie Nagy; "Para Todos Charlie"(Clarinet) 1992 El Pavo Frank; "Latinos De Etiqueta" (Sax, Flute) 1992 Iván Pérez Rossi; "No La Quiero" (Clarinet) 1992 María Teresa Chacín; "Yo Soy Venezolana" (Sax, Flute) 1993 Andy Durán; "A Jazzy Latin Beat" (Sax) 1993 Cecilia Todd; "Una Sola Vida Tengo" (Clarinet) 1993 Chiqui Rojas; "Sin Fronteras" (Sax) 1993 Maricruz Quintero; "Niebla & Lluvia" (Sax) 1993 Marisela Leal; "Todo Brasil" (Sax, Flute) 1993 Propiedad Privada; "La Verdadera Historia" (Sax) 1993 Vytas Brenner; "Amazonia" (Sax, Flute) 1994 Andy Durán; "Latin Jazz Club" (Sax) 1994 Daniel Grau; "You Are In My Dreams" (Sax) 1994 María Teresa Chacín; "Romántica" (Sax) 1995 Luz Marina; "Vestida En Flor" (Flute) 1995 María Teresa Chacín; "Amor Mío" (Sax) 1995 Martes 8:30; "Origen Caracas" (Sax) 1995 Oscar Maggi; "Cuidao Con Los Escalones" (Sax) 1995 Soledad Bravo; "Raices" (Sax) 1996 Fusión IV; "Tarde Pero Temprano" (Sax, Flute) 1996 Giselle Brass "My Favorite Songs" (Sax) 1996 Ramón Carranza "Carranza Jazz" (Sax) 1996 Serenata Guayanesa; "Una Amistad de 25 Años" (Clarinet) 1997 Various Artists; "Jazz Desde Aldemaro" (Clarinet) 1998 Tambor Urbano; "Que No Se Pare La Rumba" (Sax) 1999 Malanga; "Ta' Trancao" (Sax) 2000 El Pavo Frank; "Bravo Pavo" (Sax, Flute) 2000 Tambor Urbano; "La Rumba Continua" (Sax) 2001 Juan Carlos Núñez; "Suite Urbana" (Sax) 2001 María Teresa Chacín; "Me Voy A Regalar" (Sax) 2001 Shesura; "Diferente Amanecer" (Sax) 2002 Fernando Alarcón; "Amor De Estrellas" (Sax, Flute) 2002 Frank Quintero; "Signos de Admiración" (Sax) 2003 César Muñoz; "Dentro Del Papel" (Sax, Flute) 2003 Iván Pérez Rossi; "Canto Caribe" (Sax) 2003 María Teresa Chacín; "La Historia" (Sax, Flute) 2004 Agua De Luna; "Mi Tiempo" (Sax) 2005 El Pavo Frank; "De Colección" (Sax, Flute) 2005 Serenata Guayanesa; "El Ferrocarril" (Clarinet) 2006 Andy Durán; "Salsa Dura & Descarga" (Sax) Los Adolescentes (All Volumes) (...Many more) See also * List of Jazz Arrangers External links *His official Myspace page *His Sincopa profile *Musicavenezuela.com biography *Reflexiones del Jazz en Venezuela por Benjamin Brea (Reflections of Jazz in Venezuela by Benjamín Brea) *Rock Hecho en Venezuela (Rock Made in Venezuela): Medioevo *Rock Hecho en Venezuela (Rock Made in Venezuela): Frank Quintero *Mipunto.com Promotion of the El Hatillo Jazz Festival 2006 *Anapapaya. Revista de Prensa (Pavo Frank Article) Category:Arrangers